


A Promise Kept

by Bellatrix_Wannabe_89



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Drabble, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 05:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19041898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellatrix_Wannabe_89/pseuds/Bellatrix_Wannabe_89
Summary: He freed Tyrion’s arm from the blanket and almost immediately he wrapped a tiny hand around Jaime’s finger, making the older Lannister smile.“I’m your big brother,” he told Tryion, gently rocking him. “That means I’m gonna protect you, just like I promised Mama I would.”Just a short little Drabble between the first time the Lannister brothers meet and a promise that Jaime is determined to keep...





	A Promise Kept

**Author's Note:**

> For added emotions I recommend listening to ‘Safe and Sound’ by Taylor Swift while reading.

“Mama?”

Seeing the fear in her son’s expression, Joanna forced a smile to her face, ignoring the blinding pain that was threatening to overwhelm her. Pain that she hadn’t even felt when she gave birth to twins, one of them breached at that.

Pain, and a sinking feeling that she might not make it out of this alive...

“It’s alright, Jaime,” she told him, forcing herself not to showcase just how much her body was hurting. Her lip trembled but she forced the smile to stay.  “Mama’s fine. Come here my little lion knight.”

Slowly and cautiously Jaime approached the birthing bed, big emerald eyes wide and afraid. 

“Cersei and Papa said the baby’s killing you,” he told his mother with a frightened glance at her bulging stomach as if a demon was emerge from it wielding a sword. “They said it’s gonna take you away from us.”

Joanna shook her head, biting back a cry of pain. “He’s not, Jaime. He isn’t, I promise. I’m gonna be fine.”

Tears gathered in her eyes as she reached over and took his small hand in hers, already calloused from the hours of time he spent with swords and lance.  Joanna spoke rapidly, trying her best not to seem too frantic. She knew she only had a small amount of time before the maesters came in and shooed her son away from the room.  

“Listen to me, Jaime. You’re gonna be a big brother. You know what that means?” He shook his head. “That means it’s up to you to look after the baby from anyone who would hurt him, to look after him. Play swords with him, hug him when he’s sad, love him...” She choked back a sob as more pain ripped through her but she would not scream. Joanna was a lioness, and she had to protect her cub.

Both of them.

“Can- can you promise me you’ll do that, Jaime? Can you promise you’ll protect him? Can you do that for me?”

Tears had gathered in the cubs eyes and had the situation not been so serious Joanna would have laughed at the adorable way his chin trembled and the way his lip pouted as he fought against spilling tears in front of his mother.

“I promise, Mama. I’ll protect him.”

Joanna let out a sigh of relief and, ignoring the blinding pain she leaned over and kissed Jaime on the forehead. 

“I love you,” she breathed, tears falling down her pale cheeks. “So much my little lion knight. Never forget that.”

“I love you too, Mama,” he replied. She laid back down on the bed and Jaime wanted a moment before he pressed his lips to her rounded stomach. “I love you too, Tyrion.”

Joanna reached over and ran her hand through his golden blonde hair and, despite everything, she managed a soft smile just as the door opened and maester and septa’s ran in and as predicted, ushered the young cub out of the room. 

Hours later the news had reached the family of what had happened. Joanna has been ripped open during the birth and try as they may they couldn’t stop the bleeding. The baby, the measters said, was alive but there was something wrong with him, something deformed. His head was too big for his small body and his arms and legs were too short. 

Tyrion was a dwarf. A dwarf who Joanna died giving birth to... 

Cersei wouldn’t see the baby. She hated ‘that monster for killing our mother’, and ordered Jaime to feel the same. Tywin went into the nursery for thirty seconds before he stormed out without a word, tears in his green eyes, leaving the baby to bawl and cry for someone, anyone, to comfort it. Jaime swallowed hard as he watched his father and twin walk away from the screaming babe. 

He should have followed Cersei. She would be mad at him for disobeying her, he knew she would, and he hated when Cersei was mad at him. 

But as he listened to the baby cry, an ache pulled at his heart that he couldn’t mute no matter how much he wanted to do for his twin. Jaime walked into the nursery and, after taking a deep breath, he peered into the crib.

He cocked his head to the side as he looked down at the crying baby. They had wrapped in a crimson blanket with a golden lion sown on. Sure there was a few noticeable things about him that Jaime knew was different then most babies but he still looked like a relatively normal newborn for the most part, 

Normal but more importantly he was weak and innocent, no matter what Cersei or Papa said.

Jaime was going to be a knight one day, and wasn’t that a knights job? To defend the weak, and protect the innocent, and what was more weak and innocent than an infant?

“Hi, Tyrion,” Jaime said softly. The newborn looked over at the voice but didn’t stop his crying. Not until he reached in and picked the baby up, as careful as he could manage. He sat down on the floor besides the crib and looked down at the cub whose curious pale blue eyes searched over Jamie's face. He freed Tyrion’s arm from the blanket and almost immediately he wrapped a tiny hand around Jaime’s finger, making the older Lannister smile.

“I’m your big brother,” he told Tryion, gently rocking him. “That means I’m gonna protect you, just like I promised Mama.” 

Tyrion cooed and Jaime’s smile grew before he pressed his lips to his forehead. 

He wasn’t a monster. He hadn’t killed their mother, he wasn’t ‘deformed’ or anything else they said about the little cub. 

He was Jaime’s little brother, and he was going to protect him. From this day, until his last…


End file.
